Primary intracerebral Hodgkin's disease mimicking meningioma: case report

A rare case of dura-based primary cerebral Hodgkin's disease clinically and radiographically indistinguishable from a meningioma is described. A 55-year-old immunocompetent woman presented with headaches and ataxia. Magnetic resonance images demonstrated a circumscribed diffusely enhancing mass with a dural tail attached to the cerebellar tentorium. Operative inspection also suggested a meningioma, but a frozen section of the firm mass revealed an inflammatory lesion. Subsequent pathological analysis demonstrated Hodgkin's disease, nodular sclerosing type. An extensive workup revealed no systemic disease. This case illustrates the rare occurrence of primary intracranial Hodgkin's disease and its mimicry of meningioma.